Method and apparatus for real time compression and decompression of a digital motion video signal

ABSTRACT

A bitstream representative of at least one digital video image is decoded in real time by providing a code-book index from the bitstream, applying the code-book index to an index table to determine an index value, and comparing the index value to a first predetermined threshold. If the index value is greater than the predetermined threshold, then at least one current pixel is determined by copying a corresponding previous pixel into the location of at least one current pixel; otherwise the index value is applied to a vector table to determine at least one vector value and a current pixel is determined from the vector value and a corresponding previous pixel. A digital video image is encoded in real time by selecting at least one pixel for encoding and determining at least one difference value between the selected pixel and at least one corresponding previous pixel. An index value corresponding to the location in a first table of the difference value is calculated. If the index value is equal to a first predetermined value then a run-length counter is implemented by a second predetermined value and the process is repeated until the index value is not equal to the first predetermined value. The run-length counter is then encoded. If the index value is not equal to the first predetermined value then the index value is encoded.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to video signal processing generally and particularly to systems for providing a compressed digital video signal representative of a full color video signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In real time video systems, compression and decompression are typically done using the same or similar hardware at roughly the same speed. Real time video systems have often required hardware that is too expensive for a single user, or such systems have sacrificed picture quality in favor of lower cost hardware. This problem has been bypassed by the use of presentation level video systems where the compression is performed on expensive hardware, but the decompression is done by low cost hardware. This solution works only in situations where the single-user system needs only to playback compressed video which has been prepared ahead of time.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for compressing and decompressing motion video in real time which may operate on lower cost hardware while maintaining acceptable picture quality.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of the invention which follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and apparatus for real time compression and decompression of a digital motion video signal is disclosed. According to the present invention, a bitstream representative of at least one digital video image is decoded in real time by first providing a code-book index from the bitstream. The code-book index is applied to an index table to determine an index value which is compared to a first predetermined threshold. If the index value is greater than the predetermined threshold, then at least one current pixel is determined by copying a corresponding previous pixel into the location of at least one current pixel; otherwise, the index value is applied to a vector table to determine at least one vector value and at least one current pixel is determined from the vector value and a corresponding previous pixel.

In accordance with the present invention, at least one digital video image is encoded in real time by selecting at least one pixel for encoding and determining at least one difference value between the selected pixel and at least one corresponding previous pixel. An index value corresponding to the location in a first table of the difference value is calculated. If the index value is equal to a first predetermined value then a run-length counter is incremented by a second predetermined value and the process is repeated until the index value is not equal to the first predetermined value. The run-length counter is then encoded, If the index value is not equal to the first predetermined value then the index value is encoded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a decoder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 1A is a flow diagram illustrating a further aspect of the decoder of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1B is a flow diagram illustrating a system for scaling-up an image compressed at a lower level of resolution according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows the use of a corresponding previous pixel to perform intra-frame decoding in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows the use of a corresponding previous pixel to perform inter-frame decoding in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of an encoder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating the vector quantization and run-length encoding procedures of the encoder of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating the Huffman encoder of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating a video compression system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating a video decompression system according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a decoder for decoding a bitstream 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Bitstream 100 represents a motion video sequence of one or more images which have been encoded in real time. Encoded data from bitstream 100 is applied to Huffman decoder 110 to derive a code-book index representing the position of a code-word within a lexicographically-ordered list of code-words. The code-book index is then used as an entry point to determine an index value from look-up table 120. Comparing means 130 are provided for comparing the index value to a predetermined threshold. If the index value is greater than the predetermined threshold, then copying means 140 determines at least one current pixel by copying a corresponding previous pixel into the location of a current pixel. In a preferred embodiment, copying means 140 calculates the amount that the index value exceeds the predetermined threshold, and then determines that number of current pixels by copying that number of corresponding previous pixels into respective current pixel locations. If the index value is not greater than the predetermined threshold, then the index value is used as an entry point to determine at least one vector value from vector table 150. Means 160 then determines at least one current pixel from a vector value and a corresponding previous pixel. In the preferred embodiment, means 160 uses the index value to determine two vector values which are adjacent in vector table 150. The two vector values are then used by means 160 to determine two adjacent current pixels from two corresponding previous pixels.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is intended for compression of 8-bit planes of an image. The present invention may also be used with 9-bit YUV images, and other image formats, including 12-bit image formats, may also be used. In the preferred embodiment, the same compression and decompression process steps are applied to each color component of each image in a sequence. As used below, the term image refers to a single color component of an image.

In the preferred embodiment, each image in the sequence is encoded as either a still image or by using inter-frame differences. During the encoding of an image, each pixel in the image is subtracted from a corresponding previous pixel and the differences are encoded. As shown in FIG. 2A, if the image (200) is being encoded as a still (intra-frame encoding), the corresponding previous pixel (210) is preferably the pixel directly above the current pixel being encoded (220). As shown in FIG. 2B, if the image (240) is encoded using inter-frame differences, the corresponding previous pixel (232) is preferably the pixel in the previous image (230) located in the same position (in the bitmap) as the current pixel being encoded (234). In either case, there is a difference image (whose values tend to cluster around zero) which is encoded. Difference images are preferably encoded using 2-D vector quantization, with some run-length encoding added to help encode large areas of zeros efficiently.

In the preferred embodiment, bitstream 100 includes the following fields for each frame in a sequence: StillFlag, DataSize, ImageHeight, ImageWidth, Flags, VectorSet, a Huffman table descriptor for the image, and Huffman encoded data for the Y, V, U planes. The StillFlag field indicates whether the image is a still, DataSize indicates the size of the bitstream in bits, and ImageHeight and ImageWidth give the size of the decoded image in pixels. The Flags field indicates whether the data in the bitstream represents an image that has been encoded at full resolution, half vertical resolution, half horizontal resolution, or half vertical and half horizontal resolution. Such half resolution images may be obtained prior to encoding by subsampling the full resolution image in one or both dimensions. In the preferred embodiment, an image for encoding is considered to be at full resolution if it is ImageHeight pixels high and ImageWidth pixels wide; it is considered to be at half vertical resolution if it is ImageHeight pixels high and ImageWidth/2 pixels wide; it is considered to be at half horizontal resolution if it is ImageHeight/2 pixels high and ImageWidth pixels wide; and it is considered to be at half vertical and half horizontal resolution if it is ImageHeight/2 pixels high and ImageWidth/2 pixels wide.

In the preferred embodiment, the VectorSet field is a number from 0 to 7 which is used to select one of eight vector sets to use for decoding an image. Each of the vector sets contains 128 ordered pairs which may be thought of as points defined by X and Y coordinates. In all the vector sets, the ordered pairs are clustered about the point (128, 128); however, the average distance between the ordered pairs and the center point (128, 128) varies among the vectors sets. In VectorSet 0, the ordered pairs are closely clustered about (128, 128). VectorSet 0 thus corresponds to the lowest quantization level. As one moves from VectorSet 0 to VectorSet 7, the ordered pairs cluster less closely around (128, 128). VectorSet 7 thus corresponds to the highest quantization level.

The eight vector sets used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention are attached hereto as Pages A-1 through A-5. In the preferred embodiment, the vectors have arithmetic values in the range -128 to 127. The vector values shown in Pages A-1 through A-5 have 128 added to them, so that they are in the range 0 to 255. Other vector sets may be used without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the preferred embodiment, the value of the VectorSet field may vary from image to image, thus allowing the encoder to vary the quantization level between images. In this embodiment, the vector set selected by the VectorSet field is used to decode the Y component image. The vector set selected by the value VectorSet/2 is used for the U, V components. Better quantization is normally required for encoding the U, V component images, since these components are typically subsampled spatially. In an alternate embodiment, a single vector set may be used to encode and decode all images in a sequence.

A Huffman table descriptor for each image is also included in the format of bitstream 100. The Huffman table is preferably of the form shown in Table I below:

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                                    0[xx . . . x]                                                                  10[xx . . . x]                                                                 110[xx . . . x]                                                                1110[xx . . . x]                                                               11110[xx . . . x]                                                              111110[xx . . . x]                                                             1111110[xx . . . x]                                                            11111110[xx . . . x]                                                ______________________________________                                    

Byte K in the Huffman table descriptor indicates how many "x bits" there are in row K of the above table. The Huffman decoding operation collects bits from the bitstream one at a time until a code-word in a code-book is recognized. Huffman decoder 110 returns a code-book index representing the position of a code-words within a lexicographically-ordered list of code words.

Following the above header information in bitstream 100 is the Huffman encoded data describing the Y plane. Data for the V and U planes immediately follows the Y plane data. In the preferred embodiment, the V and U data describe a bitmap which is 1/4 the size horizontally and 1/4 the size vertically of the Y bitmap. The final result is a YUV 4:1:1 image which may be displayed directly by a display processor, or converted to some other display format if desired.

DECODING PROCEDURE

The decoding procedure for a still image can be described by the c-language pseudo code in Table II below. In the pseudo code, the function huffdec() performs a huffman decode operation as described above and returns an unsigned integer representing the code-book index:

                  TABLE II                                                         ______________________________________                                         Define                                                                         Width = ImageWidth, divided by 2 depending on the                              value of Flags                                                                 Height = ImageHeight, divided by 2 depending on                                the value of Flags                                                             Then:                                                                              unsigned char *curr,*prev;                                                     unsigned int *vec;                                                             for (x=0; x<Width; x++) // Fill first line with 128's                            bitmap[0][x] = 128;                                                          for (y=0; y<Height; y++) // for each line of image                             {                                                                          //  point to beginning of current line and previous line                       curr = &bitmap[y][0];                                                          prev = &bitmap[y - (y != 0)][0];                                               for (x=0; x<Width; x+=2) // for each pair of                                   //             pixels                                                          k = index[huffdec()];                                                          //  Now do either a run-length of 0's or a single vector,                      //  depending on the value of k.                                               if (k > 256) // run-length of 0's?                                             {                                                                              for (i=0; i<k-256; i++)                                                                *curr++  = *prev++;                                                    x += k-258;                                                                    }                                                                              else // apply a single vector                                                  {                                                                                     vec = vectors + k;                                                             *curr++ = clamp (*prevv++ + *vecc++);                                          *curr++ = clamp (*prevv++ + *vecc++);                                             }                                                                        }                                                                          }                                                                              where:                                                                         `vectors` is a pointer to the vector set to use for                            this image, and index[] is the following array:                                index[] = {                                                                    2,   4,     258,   6,   8,   260, 10,  12,                                     262, 264,   14,    16,  266, 18,  20,  22,                                     24,  26,    28,    268, 30,  32,  270, 272,                                    34,  36,    38,    40,  274, 42,  44,  276,                                    46,  48,    278,   50,  52,  280, 54,  56,                                     282, 58,    60,    284, 62,  64,  286, 66,                                     68,  288,   70,    72,  74,  76,  78,  80,                                     82,  84,    86,    88,  90,  92,  94,  96,                                     98,  100,   102,   104, 106, 108, 110, 112,                                    114, 116,   118,   120, 122, 124, 126, 128,                                    130, 132,   134,   136, 138, 140, 142, 144,                                    146, 148,   150,   152, 154, 156, 158, 160,                                    162, 164,   166,   168, 170, 172, 174, 176,                                    178, 180,   182,   184, 186, 188, 190, 192,                                    194, 196,   198,   200, 202, 204, 206, 208,                                    210, 212,   214,   216, 218, 220, 222, 224,                                    226, 228,   230,   232, 234, 236, 238, 240,                                    242, 244,   246,   248, 250, 252, 254,                                         }                                                                              and clamp(x) is a function defined as follows:                                 clamp(x) =                                                                             0      if x<128                                                                x-128  if 128 >= x < 384                                                       255    if x >= 384                                                     ______________________________________                                    

As shown in FIG. 1B, executing the above procedure, the decoder then scales the image up horizontally and/or vertically by a factor of two, if requested to by the Flags field in the header.

The decoding procedure for an inter-frame (non-still) image is similar to that described in Table II, and is obtained by deleting the first 2 lines of code, and changing the line ##EQU1##

SCALABILITY

By manipulating the Flags and StillPeriod parameters in the encoder, it is possible to create real time video files which can be scalably decoded; that is, yielding reasonable-quality playback on a typical micro-processor (for example, a 386/486 class processor), and better quality on a higher-performance video signal processor chip (for example, a DVI i750 chip). In a preferred embodiment, real time video files which can be scalably decoded are created by setting Flags so that half vertical and half horizontal resolution is selected. The decoder would therefore normally be expected to scale up the image by 2×both vertically and horizontally after decoding. According to the present invention, if a sequence of 256×240 images is compressed at 128×120 resolution, it can be decompressed and displayed as a sequence of 128×120 images on a typical micro-processor. By opting not to interpolate the 128×120 images back up to 256×240 images, a typical micro-processor can be used to reproduce image sequences encoded in real time with a reasonable degree of quality. The image quality level can be improved through the use of a higher-performance video signal processor which reproduces the sequence by decoding and then interpolating back up to 256×240 images. Thus, the same encoded sequence can be reproduced at different quality levels depending on the limitations of the decompression hardware. Another aspect of real time video files which can be scalably decoded would allow a typical micro-processor system to use a VGA for display whereas a video signal processor system may use a 24-bit-color i750DB display. The micro-processor system might choose to display in monochrome to avoid messy YUV-to-VGA-clut conversion.

In a still further aspect of scalability, during compression a user may set the parameter "StillPeriod" to P, thus requiring every Pth image to be encoded as a still. The other images may then be encoded using inter-frame differences. P can typically be set quite small without adversely affecting image quality. By compressing a sequence with P=3, the processing requirements for a micro-processor type system can be reduced without adversely affecting image quality. For example, decompressing and displaying still images using a 386/486 processor typically yields a 10 fps display. This frame rate can be increased smoothly from 10 fps to 30 fps if P=3.

ENCODING PROCEDURE

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown an overall flow diagram for encoding an image in real time according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The first step is to determine whether to encode the image as an intra-frame (a still image) or an inter-frame (an image encoded relative to the previous image in the sequence). For this purpose, a user parameter called StillPeriod is used. The user sets StillPeriod to a given value (K) to force every Kth image to be encoded as a still (INTRA) image. For efficiency of encoding, an encoder may choose to use an INTRA frame even for images in between every-Kth image. For example, if there is a scene cut or if the video enters a period of very high motion, then an intra-frame image will be more efficient to encode than an inter-frame, because the correlation between adjacent images will be too small to be advantageous.

As shown in FIG. 3, means 310 first computes the absolute difference (ABSDIF) between frame N and the previous frame (N-1). This involves summing the absolute value of the differences between all pixels in the two images. For efficiency of computation it is preferable to only use a subset of the pixels in the two images for the purpose of comparison. This provides as nearly an accurate measure of the difference between the two images at a greatly reduced computational cost. After this computation, means 320 (i) compares the absolute difference between frame N and a previous frame N-1 with a predetermined threshold, and (ii) computes the value of N mod StillPeriod. If means 320 determines (i) that the absolute difference is greater than the predetermined threshold or (ii) that (N mod StillPeriod) is zero, then the frame type is set to INTRA by means 325. Otherwise, the frame type is set to INTER by means 330. In alternate embodiments, parameters other than the absolute difference between all pixels in frames N and N-1 may be used in determining how to set the frame type. For example, the mean-square error between pixels in frames N and N-1 or the relative difference between such pixels may be used.

After determining whether to encode as an INTRA or INTER image, means 340a next computes the pixel differences which are to be encoded. As described in the discussions of FIGS. 2A, 2B above, if the image is an INTRA, each pixel has subtracted from it the value of the pixel immediately above it in the same image. (For the top row, a "phantom value" of 128 is used for these pixels.) If the image is an INTER image, each pixel has subtracted from it the value of the pixel in the same spatial location in the previous image. The pixel differences are then vector-quantized and run-length encoded by means 340b. Further details of this vector-quantization and run-length encoding procedure are shown in FIG. 3A and will be described below. The output of means 340b is a string of bytes with values corresponding to the values in the index[] array (divided by 2). This string of bytes is Huffman encoded by means 360 into variable-length codes. Further details of Huffman encoder 360 are shown in FIG. 3B and will be described below. In the final encoding step, means 380 prepends the proper bitstream header.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the operation of means 340 of FIG. 3. In particular, FIG. 3A shows the run-length encoding and vector quantization procedures of means 340b. The operation of means 340 is performed with a 2-state machine. The two states are denoted as ZERO and NONZERO. The ZERO state indicates that the system is in the middle of processing a run of 0 values. The NONZERO state indicates that non-zero values are being processed. The purpose of the two states is to allow for efficient encoding of consecutive zero differences.

In the first step of FIG. 3A, means 342 initializes the state machine to the NONZERO state. Next, means 344 computes the next pair of pixel differences. In the preferred embodiment, the image is processed in normal raster-scan order, from top to bottom and left to right within each line. The "next pair" of pixels means the next two pixels on the current scan line being processed. As stated above, the differences are taken with the pixels immediately above these pixels (if this image is being encoded as an INTRA) or with the pixels in the same spatial location in the previous image (if this image is being encoded as an INTER image). Since these two values represent pixel differences, they will typically be small, or close to zero.

In the next step, means 346 operates to 2-D vector-quantize the two pixel difference values into a single number (index) between 0 and 127. The possible index values correspond to 128 points in 2-D space known as a "vector set". Geometrically, a vector set represents 128 points in the 2-D square bounded by the values -255 and 255 which have been chosen as reasonable approximations to every point in the square. Thus, if the two pixel difference values are denoted by d1 and d2, they can be represented as a point in the 2-D square with coordinates (d1, d2). The vector quantization operation attempts to choose the closest (in Euclidean distance) of the 128 representative points to be used to encode the point (d1, d2). Since the vector set is relatively small, this choosing operation can be done quickly using a lookup table. According to this procedure, the values d1 and d2 are first limited to the range -127 to +127. Then, the quantity 128 is added to produce values in the range 0 to 255. Next, a value p is calculated according to equation (1) below wherein "|" represents a bitwise inclusive OR operation, and "<<" and ">>" indicate left and right shift operations, respectively, of the left operand by the number of bit positions given by the right operand:

    p=(d1>>2)|(d2>>2<<6)                              (1)

The value of p is in the range 0 to 4095. The value at position `p` in a 4096-entry lookup table is then used to get the index corresponding to the closest representative point in the vector set corresponding to (d1, d2). Although a slight inaccuracy in the computation is introduced by not using the lower 2 bits of d1 and d2, without this step the lookup table would be 64K instead of 4K. A separate lookup table is required for each of the eight vector sets for a total size of 32K bytes. During encoding, the degree of quantization used (e.g., the VectorSet value chosen) is varied by known feedback processes which monitor the size of encoded images in the bitstream.

The remainder of FIG. 3A maintains the value of a variable `run` which indicates how many consecutive index values of 0 have been produced. When a run of 0 values is ended, means 350 outputs the value 128+run. For each non-zero index, means 354 outputs the index value itself. Means 358 functions to repeat the process (starting from means 344) until all pixels have been processed.

The encoding procedure shown in FIGS. 3,3A for a still (INTRA) image can be described by the c-language pseudo code in Table III below:

    ______________________________________                                         Define                                                                         Width = ImageWidth, divided by 2 depending on the                              value of Flags                                                                 Height = ImageHeight, divided by 2 depending on the                            value of Flags                                                                 Then                                                                           unsigned char *curr, *prev,grey[XMAX];                                         unsigned char *lookup                                                          for (x=0; x<Width; x++) // make a line of 128's                                 grey[x] = 128;                                                                state = NONZERO;                                                               for (y=0; y<Height; y++) // for each line of image                             curr = &bitmap[y][0];                                                          if (y > 0)                                                                     prev = &bitmap[y-1][0];                                                        else                                                                           prev = &grey[0];                                                               for (x=0; x<Width; x+=2)                                                       {                                                                              d1 = clamp(*curr++ - *prev++ + 128);                                           d2 = clamp(*curr++ - *prev++ + 128);                                           index = lookup[ (d1 >> 2) | (d2 >> 2 << 6) ];                         if (state == ZERO)                                                             {                                                                              if (index == 0)                                                                run++;                                                                         else                                                                           { huffenc(run + 128); huffenc(index);                                                 state = NONZERO; }                                                      }                                                                              else if (state == NONZERO)                                                     {                                                                              if (index ==0)                                                                 { run = 1; state = ZERO;                                                       else                                                                           huffenc(index);                                                                }                                                                              }                                                                              }                                                                              where;                                                                         `lookup` is a pointer to the 4K difference-pair-to-                            vector-index lookup table for the current vector set;                          huffenc(x) is a function to output the appropriate                             Huffman codeword such that index[huffdec(huffenc(x))]                          = x.                                                                           ______________________________________                                    

The encoding procedure for an inter-frame image is similar to that described in Table III, and is obtained by deleting the first 2 lines of code, and changing the lines ##EQU2##

Referring now to FIG. 3B, there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the Huffman encoding of the byte values output by means 340b. The Huffman encoding step replaces the fixed 8-bit codes with a statistically-optimized set of variable-length codes. Before the Huffman encoding begins, two tables (table1 and table2) are precalculated to specify, for each 8-bit value to be Huffman encoded, the number of bits in the Huffman code and the actual bits themselves. The bits are top-justified in a 16-bit value. The Huffman encoding operation is assisted by a 16-bit register called `bitbuf` in which bits are collected. Another register, `rbits`, is used to indicate how many unused bits there are remaining in `bitbuf`. Means 361 initially sets rbits to 16, since `bitbuf` is initially empty.

Means 362 reads the next byte of data and looks up `numbits` and `bits` in the two tables. Decision block 363 determines whether there is room enough in `bitbuf` to hold the entire Huffman code word, i.e., is numbits <=rbits? If so, then `bits` is ORed into `bitbuf` by means 364, and `rbits` is reduced by the value of `numbits` by means 365. If it is determined by decision block 363 that the bits do not fit in `bitbuf`, then the encoder puts as many bits as will fit into `bitbuf`, outputs `bitbuf`, puts the remaining bits into bitbuf, and sets rbits=16-diff. More particularly, means 366 determines a value diff by subtracting rbits from numbits. Means 367 puts as many bits as will fit into bitbuf by ORing (bitbuf>>rbits) with (bits diff). Means 368 then outputs bitbuf and means 369 sets bitbuf to bits and rbits to 16 minus diff.

Decision block 370 determines whether the processing of all bytes is completed. If it is determined that all bytes have not been processed, the above process (starting with means 362) is repeated.

SYSTEM DETAILS

Two overall system block diagrams are shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B. FIG. 4A shows a block diagram for recording and FIG. 4B shows a block diagram for playback; however, the same system can be used (even simultaneously) for either recording (encoding) or playback (decoding).

Referring now to FIG. 4A, the analog video is first digitized by video digitizer 410, and the digital images are stored in memory 420 in "YUV-9" format. This format consists of three planes of 8-bit pixels: one Y plane, one U plane, and one V plane. The U and V planes are stored at 1/4 the resolution in each dimension compared to the Y plane. Means 430 includes a set of control and synchronization routines which examine the images as they are digitized and invoke encoder 440 as appropriate in order to compress successive frames of the video. The bitstreams are then output to memory, from which they can be stored to hard disk or sent over a network.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, a playback system according to the present invention is shown. The playback diagram of FIG. 4B is the inverse of the record diagram shown in 4A. Thus, means 470 accepts as input compressed data and invokes decoder 480 as appropriate to decompress successive frames of the video. The decompressed video is stored in memory 460 in YUV-9 format. Display hardware 450 produces analog video from the YUV-9 data.

In the preferred embodiment, digitizer 410 can be programmed to digitize horizontally or vertically at any resolution. In effect, this means that the digitizer can be used to do part of the compression process. By programming the digitizer to a lower resolution, there will be less data for the encoder to compress and the final data size will be smaller. In addition, digitizer 410 may dynamically alter the digitizer resolution (either horizontally or vertically) when the video becomes "hard" to compress. A method and apparatus for dynamically altering resolution based on image complexity is implemented in U.S. patent application entitled, "Method and Apparatus For Encoding Selected Images At Lower Resolution" by A. Alattar, S. Golin and M. Keith, filed Mar. 25, 1992, the Ser. No. of which is not yet known, which application is assigned to the assignee of the present application and the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In the real time video system described above, the encoder takes incoming digitized images, compresses them, and outputs the compressed bitstream to a buffer in memory for extraction by the application. The simplistic view of the system assumes that everything works "ideally", so that a new compressed frame is generated exactly F times per second, where F is the desired frame rate requested by the user. However, there are at least two conditions which typically occur to make the operation of the system less than ideal:

(1) The analog video source may disappear for a period, thus precluding new digitized images from being obtained by the digitizer; and

(2) The application may not extract compressed frames from the buffer fast enough, which means that the encoding system gets "stalled" by the inability to output more compressed frames (caused by the output buffer being full).

In either case, if the encoder simply fails to output frames, this will result in a loss of time synchronization. For example, if the system is encoding at 30 frames per second, the playback system would expect to get 900 frames in 30 seconds. If, due to conditions (1) or (2), less than 900 frames are generated (for example, 840), then upon playback the playback system will play these 840 frames at 30 frames per second, and the playback of these frames will occupy only 28 seconds. This is not acceptable, since the video information upon playback will not occupy the same amount of real time that it did during recording. This will be evident to the viewer by, for example, loss of audio/video synchronization.

A solution to this problem is presented by what will be termed "sync frames". During encoding, means 430 keeps track of real time using a clock signal. It attempts to generate F compressed data frames per second, as requested by the user, and it monitors how well it is doing. If at any point it determines that it is behind (i.e., fewer frames have been generated so far than there should be), it inserts a "sync frame" into the compressed buffer. A "sync frame" is a compressed data frame that appears in the bitstream just like a normal compressed frame (and so travels through the record and playback systems without any special handling) but which can be detected by the playback process as special.

The sync frame consists of the bitstream header (described above) with the DataSize field set to 128 and the other fields set to the appropriate values. A sync frame in effect counts the passage of time without causing a new image to appear on the screen. When the decoder encounters a sync frame, it simply copies the previous image to the current image bitmap. This results in no change to the display but the proper passage of time, so that accurate time synchronization results. Thus, if a system bottleneck occurs so that only 840 "real" compressed frames are created during a 30-second period, then means 430 will insert 60 sync frames. Thus, over the 30-second period there will be exactly 900 frames, as desired, but 60 of them will be sync frames. On playback, there will be some visual anomalies when the sync frames are processed, but exact time synchronization will be maintained.

The present invention may be implemented in real time (both compression and decompression) using an Intel model i750PB processor. Other processors, including Intel 386/486 processors, may be used to scalably decode video data which has been encoded accorded to the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

    ______________________________________                                         Vector set 0                                                                   128  128     132     132   124   124   127   133                               129  123     133     127   123   129   140   140                               116  116     131     141   125   115   141   131                               115  125     119     137   137   119   137   119                               119  137     140     149   116   107   149   140                               107  116     124     144   132   112   144   124                               112  132     150     150   106   106   130   152                               126  104     152     130   104   126   151   162                               105  94      162     151   94    105   162   162                               94   94      139     163   117   93    163   139                               93   117     113     149   143   107   149   113                               107  143     120     157   136   99    157   120                               99   136     127     167   129   89    167   127                               89   129     164     177   92    79    177   164                               79   92      150     177   106   79    177   150                               79   106     178     178   78    78    101   155                               155  101     155     101   101   155   137   180                               119  76      180     137   76    119   106   163                               150  93      163     106   93    150   115   172                               141  84      172     115   84    141   180   195                               76   61      195     180   61    76    164   195                               92   61      195     164   61    92    196   196                               60   60      150     198   106   58    198   150                               58   106     124     186   132   70    186   124                               70   132     91      171   165   85    171   91                                85   165     99      180   157   76    180   99                                76   157     134     202   122   54    202   134                               54   122     182     215   74    41    215   182                               41   74      200     215   56    41    215   200                               41   56      164     216   92    40    216   164                               40   92      108     193   148   63    193   108                               63   148     217     217   39    39    128   128                               Vector set 1                                                                   128  128     133     133   123   123   126   135                               130  121     135     126   121   130   143   143                               113  113     132     143   124   113   143   132                               113  124     117     139   139   117   139   117                               117  139     142     154   114   102   154   142                               102  114     123     147   133   109   147   123                               109  133     155     155   101   101   130   157                               126  99      157     130   99    126   155   168                               101  88      168     155   88    101   169   169                               87   87      141     170   115   86    170   141                               86   115     110     153   146   103   153   110                               103  146     118     162   138   94    162   118                               94   138     127     175   129   81    175   127                               81   129     171     186   85    70    186   171                               70   85      154     187   102   69    187   154                               69   102     187     187   69    69    96    160                               160  96      160     96    96    160   139   190                               117  66      190     139   66    117   102   170                               154  86      170     102   86    154   112   181                               144  75      181     112   75    144   190   207                               66   49      207     190   49    66    171   208                               85   48      208     171   48    85    209   209                               47   47      154     211   102   45    211   154                               45   102     103     197   133   59    197   123                               59   133     84      180   172   76    180   84                                76   172     94      190   162   66    190   94                                66   162     135     216   121   40    216   135                               40   121     192     232   64    24    232   192                               24   64      213     232   43    24    232   213                               24   43      171     233   85    23    233   171                               23   85      104     205   152   51    205   104                               51   152     234     234   22    22    128   128                               Vector set 2                                                                   128  128     134     134   122   122   126   136                               130  120     136     126   120   130   146   146                               110  110     133     146   123   110   146   133                               110  123     115     141   141   115   141   115                               115  141     145     158   111   98    158   145                               98   111     121     151   135   105   151   121                               105  135     160     160   96    96    131   162                               125  94      162     131   94    125   160   176                               96   80      176     160   80    96    177   177                               79   79      143     178   113   78    178   143                               78   113     107     158   149   98    158   107                               98   149     116     169   140   87    169   116                               87   140     127     184   129   72    184   127                               72   129     180     197   76    59    197   180                               59   76      159     198   97    58    198   159                               58   97      198     198   58    58    89    167                               167  89      167     89    89    167   141   202                               115  54      202     141   54    115   97    178                               159  78      178     97    78    159   109   191                               147  65      191     109   65    147   202   223                               54   33      223     202   33    54    179   223                               77   33      223     179   33    77    225   225                               31   31      159     227   97    29    227   159                               29   97      122     211   134   45    211   122                               45   134     76      190   180   66    190   76                                66   180     87      202   169   54    202   87                                54   169     136     233   120   23    233   136                               23   120     204     251   52    5     251   204                               5    52      230     251   26    5     251   230                               5    26      180     253   76    3     253   180                               3    76      99      220   157   36    220   99                                36   157     254     254   2     2     128   128                               Vector set 3                                                                   128  128     135     135   121   121   126   137                               130  119     137     126   119   130   149   149                               107  107     134     150   122   106   150   134                               106  122     112     144   144   112   144   112                               112  144     148     164   108   92    164   148                               92   108     120     155   136   101   155   120                               101  136     166     166   90    90    131   169                               125  87      169     131   87    125   166   185                               90   71      185     166   71    90    186   186                               70   70      146     188   110   68    188   146                               68   110     103     163   153   93    163   103                               93   153     114     176   142   80    176   114                               80   142     127     195   129   61    195   127                               61   129     190     210   66    46    210   190                               46   66      165     212   91    44    212   165                               44   91      212     212   44    44    82    174                               174  82      174     82    82    174   143   216                               113  40      216     143   40    113   91    187                               165  69      187     91    69    165   105   203                               151  53      203     105   53    151   216   240                               40   16      240     216   16    40    189   241                               67   15      241     189   15    67    243   243                               13   13      165     246   91    10    246   165                               10   91      120     226   136   30    226   120                               30   136     66      201   190   55    201   66                                55   190     79      216   177   40    216   79                                40   177     138     253   118   3     253   138                               3    118     219     255   37    1     255   219                               1    37      249     255   7     1     255   249                               1    7       190     255   66    1     255   190                               1    66      94      237   162   19    237   94                                19   162     255     255   1     1     128   128                               Vector set 4                                                                   128  128     136     136   120   120   126   138                               130  118     138     126   118   130   152   152                               104  104     134     154   122   102   154   134                               102  122     110     146   146   110   146   110                               110  146     152     170   104   86    170   152                               86   104     120     160   136   96    160   120                               96   136     172     172   84    84    132   176                               124  80      176     132   80    124   174   196                               82   60      196     174   60    82    196   196                               60   60      150     198   106   58    198   150                               58   106     98      170   158   86    170   98                                86   158     112     186   144   70    186   112                               70   144     126     206   130   50    206   126                               50   130     200     226   56    30    226   200                               30   56      172     226   84    30    226   172                               30   84      228     228   28    28    74    182                               182  74      182     74    74    182   146   232                               110  24      232     146   24    110   84    198                               172  58      198     84    58    172   102   216                               154  40      216     102   40    154   232   255                               24   0       255     232   0     24    200   255                               56   0       255     200   0     56    255   255                               0    0       172     255   84    0     255   172                               0    84      120     244   136   12    244   120                               12   136     54      214   202   42    214   54                                42   202     70      232   186   24    232   70                                24   186     140     255   116   0     255   140                               0    116     236     255   20    0     255   236                               0    20      255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       200     255   56    0     255   200                               0    56      88      255   168   0     255   88                                0    168     255     255   0     0     128   128                               Vector set 5                                                                   128  128     138     138   118   118   124   142                               132  114     142     124   114   132   158   158                               98   98      136     158   120   98    158   136                               98   120     106     150   150   106   150   106                               106  150     156     180   100   76    180   156                               76   100     118     166   138   90    166   118                               90   138     182     182   74    74    132   186                               124  70      186     132   70    124   182   208                               74   48      208     182   48    74    210   210                               46   46      154     212   102   44    212   154                               44   102     92      178   164   78    178   92                                78   164     108     196   148   60    196   108                               60   148     126     222   130   34    222   126                               34   130     214     244   42    12    244   214                               12   42      180     246   76    10    246   180                               10   76      246     246   10    10    64    192                               192  64      192     64    64    192   150   252                               106  4       252     150   4     106   76    212                               180  44      212     76    44    180   96    234                               160  22      234     96    22    160   252   255                               4    0       255     252   0     4     214   255                               42   0       255     214   0     42    255   255                               0    0       180     255   76    0     255   180                               0    76      118     255   138   0     255   118                               0    138     40      232   216   24    232   40                                24   216     60      252   196   4     252   60                                4    196     142     255   114   0     255   142                               0    114     255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       214     255   42    0     255   214                               0    42      80      255   176   0     255   80                                0    176     255     255   0     0     128   128                               Vector set 6                                                                   128  128     140     140   116   116   124   144                               132  112     144     124   112   132   164   164                               92   92      138     164   118   92    164   138                               92   118     102     154   154   102   154   102                               102  154     162     188   94    68    188   162                               68   94      114     174   142   82    174   114                               82   142     192     192   64    64    134   196                               122  60      196     134   60    122   192   224                               64   32      224     192   32    64    226   226                               30   30      158     228   98    28    228   158                               28   98      86      188   170   68    188   86                                68   170     104     210   152   46    210   104                               46   152     126     240   130   16    240   126                               16   130     232     255   24    0     255   232                               0    24      190     255   66    0     255   190                               0    66      255     255   0     0     50    206                               206  50      206     50    50    206   154   255                               102  0       255     154   0     102   66    228                               190  28      228     66    28    190   90    254                               166  2       254     90    2     166   255   255                               0    0       255     255   0     0     230   255                               26   0       255     230   0     26    255   255                               0    0       190     255   66    0     255   190                               0    66      116     255   140   0     255   116                               0    140     24      252   232   4     252   24                                4    232     46      255   210   0     255   46                                0    210     144     255   112   0     255   144                               0    112     255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       232     255   24    0     255   232                               0    24      70      255   186   0     255   70                                0    186     255     255   0     0     128   128                               Vector set 7                                                                   128  128     142     142   114   114   124   146                               132  110     146     124   110   132   170   170                               86   86      140     172   116   84    172   140                               84   116     96      160   160   96    160   96                                96   160     168     200   88    56    200   168                               56   88      112     182   144   74    182   112                               74   144     204     204   52    52    134   210                               122  46      210     134   46    122   204   242                               52   14      242     204   14    52    244   244                               12   12      164     248   92    8     248   164                               8    92      78      198   178   58    198   78                                58   178     100     224   156   32    224   100                               32   156     126     255   130   0     255   126                               0    130     252     255   4     0     255   252                               0    4       202     255   54    0     255   202                               0    54      255     255   0     0     36    220                               220  36      220     36    36    220   158   255                               98   0       255     158   0     98    54    246                               202  10      246     54    10    202   82    255                               174  0       255     82    0     174   255   255                               0    0       255     255   0     0     250   255                               6    0       255     250   0     6     255   255                               0    0       202     255   54    0     255   202                               0    54      112     255   144   0     255   112                               0    144     4       255   252   0     255   4                                 0    252     30      255   226   0     255   30                                0    226     148     255   108   0     255   148                               0    108     255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       255     255   0     0     255   255                               0    0       252     255   4     0     255   252                               0    4       60      255   196   0     255   60                                0    196     255     255   0     0     128   128                               ______________________________________                                     

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for forming an analog motion video signal representative of at least one decompressed digital video image in real time from a compressed digital video signal formed from a bitstream representing an encoded digital video image, said decompressed digital video image being formed from an array of pixels representing a motion video image, comprising the steps of:(A) determining a code-book index from said compressed digital video signal; (B) obtaining an index value by applying said code-book index to an index table; (C) comparing said index value to a first predetermined threshold; (D) determining at least one current pixel by copying a corresponding previous pixel into the location of said at least one current pixel if said index value is greater than said predetermined threshold; (E) obtaining at least one vector value by applying said index value to a vector table and determining said at least one current pixel from said at least one vector value and said corresponding previous pixel if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold; (F) forming said decompressed digital video image from said at least one current pixel; and (G) converting said decompressed digital video image into said analog motion video signal.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said corresponding previous pixel is positioned directly above said at least one current pixel.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said corresponding previous pixel is in a frame preceding said at least one current pixel.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (D) comprises the following steps:if said index value is greater than said predetermined threshold then(i) calculating a counter from the magnitude said index value exceeds said predetermined threshold; (ii) determining two current pixels by copying two corresponding previous pixels into the respective locations of said two current pixels; (iii) repeating step (ii) counter minus one times; and step (E) comprises the following steps: if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold then(i) applying said index value to a vector table to determine first and second vector values; and (ii) determining said two current pixels from said first vector value, said second vector value and said two corresponding previous pixels.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said code-book index is provided in step (A) from Huffman decoding of said bitstream.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:(H) repeating steps (A)-(E) until each current pixel in said decompressed digital video image has been determined; (G) determining whether said decompressed digital video image was compressed at a lower level of resolution; and (J) if said decompressed digital video image was compressed at a lower level of resolution then scaling the result of step (F) up to full resolution.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein step (E) (i) comprises the steps of:(a) selecting a vector table from a plurality of vector tables; and (b) applying said index value to said selected vector table to determine first and second vector values.
 8. A method for forming in real time a compressed digital video signal representative of at least one compressed digital video image from an analog video signal representative of an uncompressed digital video image, said compressed digital signal being formed of a bitstream representing an encoded digital video image, said uncompressed digital video image being formed from an array of pixels representing a motion video image, comprising the steps of:(A) converting said analog video signal to said uncompressed digital video image; (B) selecting from said uncompressed digital video image at least one pixel for compression; (C) determining at least one difference value between said at least one selected pixel and at least one corresponding previous pixel; (D) determining an index value corresponding to the location in a first table of said at least one difference value; (E) comparing said index value to a first predetermined value; (F) if said index value is equal to said first predetermined value then(i) incrementing a run-length counter by a second predetermined value; (ii) repeating steps (B)-(F)(i) until said index value is not equal to said first predetermined value; (iii) incrementing said run-length counter by a third predetermined value; (iv) encoding said run-length counter; (G) if said index value is not equal to said first predetermined value then encoding said index value; and (H) forming said compressed digital video signal from said encoded run-length counter and said encoded index value.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein Huffman encoding is used to encode said run-length counter in step (F)(iv) and said index value in step (G).
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said first predetermined value is zero.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein step (B) comprises selecting first and second pixels for encoding, step (C) comprises the steps of:(i) determining a first difference value between said first selected pixel and a first corresponding previous pixel; (ii) determining a second difference value between said second selected pixel and a second corresponding previous pixel; andstep (D) comprises quantizing said first and second difference values into an index value corresponding to the location of said first difference value in a first table, wherein said first and second difference values are adjacent to each other in said first table.
 12. An apparatus for forming an analog motion video signal representative of at least one decompressed digital video image in real time from a compressed digital video signal formed from a bitstream representing an encoded digital video image, said decompressed digital video image being formed from an array of pixels representing a motion video image comprising: a digital processor, said digital processor including:(A) means for determining a code-book index from said compressed digital video signal; (B) means for obtaining an index value by applying said code-book index to an index table; (C) means for comparing said index value to a first predetermined threshold; (D) means for determining at least one current pixel by copying a corresponding previous pixel into the location of said at least one current pixel if said index value is greater than said predetermined threshold; (E) means for obtaining at least one vector value by applying said index value to a first vector table if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold; (F) means for determining said at least one current pixel from said at least one vector value and said corresponding previous pixel if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold; and (G) means for forming said decompressed digital video image from said at least one current pixel;wherein said digital processor is adapted for coupling to a converter for converting said decompressed digital video image into said analog motion video signal.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said corresponding previous pixel is positioned directly above said at least one current pixel.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said corresponding previous pixel is in a frame preceding said at least one current pixel.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said means for determining at least one current pixel by copying a corresponding previous pixel comprises:(i) means for calculating a counter from the magnitude said index value exceeds said predetermined threshold; (ii) means for determining two current pixels by copying two corresponding previous pixels into the respective locations of said two current pixels; said means for applying said index value to a first vector table to determine at least one vector value comprises means for applying said index value to a vector table to determine first and second vector values; and said means for determining said at least one current pixel from said at least one vector value and said corresponding previous pixel comprises means for determining said two current pixels from said first vector value, said second vector value and said two corresponding previous pixels.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:(H) means for determining whether said at least one digital video image was compressed at a lower level of resolution; and (I) means for scaling a lower resolution image up to full resolution.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:(H) means for selecting a vector table from a plurality of vector tables; and (I) means for applying said index value to said selected vector table to determine first and second vector values.
 18. An apparatus for forming in real time a compressed digital video signal representative of at least one compressed digital video image from an analog video signal representative of an uncompressed digital video image, said compressed digital signal being formed of a bitstream representing an encoded digital video image, said uncompressed digital video image being formed from an array of pixels representing a motion video image, comprising: a digital processor, said digital processor being adapted for coupling to a converter for converting said analog motion video signal into said decompressed digital video image, said digital processor including:(A) means for selecting from said uncompressed digital video image at least one pixel for compression; (B) means for determining at least one difference value between said at least one selected pixel and at least one corresponding previous pixel; (C) means for determining an index value corresponding to the location in a first table of said at least one difference value; (D) means for comparing said index value to a first predetermined value; (E) means for incrementing a run-length counter by a second predetermined value if said index value is equal to said first predetermined value; (F) means for encoding said run-length counter; (G) means for encoding said index value if said index value is not equal to said first predetermined value; and (H) means for forming said compressed digital video signal from said encoded run-length counter and said encoded index value.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for Huffman encoding said run-length counter and said index value.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said first predetermined value is zero.
 21. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said means for selecting at least one pixel for encoding comprises means for selecting first and second pixels for encoding, said means for means for determining at least one difference value comprises:(i) means for determining a first difference value between said first selected pixel and a first corresponding previous pixel; (ii) means for determining a second difference value between said second selected pixel and a second corresponding previous pixel; and said means for calculating an index value comprises means for quantizing said first and second difference values into an index value corresponding to the location of said first difference value in a first table, wherein said first and second difference values are adjacent to each other in said first table.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said digital processor has memory associated therewith, and wherein said index table and said first vector table reside in said memory.
 23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said digital processor has memory associated therewith, and wherein said at least one selected pixel resides in said memory.
 24. A system for forming an output digital video signal representative of one or more decompressed digital video images from an input digital video signal representative of one or more compressed digital video images comprising:(A) input means for receiving said input digital video signal; (B) a digital processor coupled to said input means, said digital processor having decompressing means for forming said one or more decompressed digital video images from said one or more compressed digital video images, said decompressing means including:(1) means for acquiring a code-book index from said input digital video signal; (2) means for obtaining an index value by looking up said code-book index in an index table; (3) means for determining one or more current pixels by copying one or more corresponding previous pixels into the location of said one or more current pixels if said index value is greater than a predetermined threshold; (4) means for obtaining at least one vector value by looking up said index value in a first table if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold; and (5) means for forming one or more current pixels from said at least one vector value and one or more corresponding previous pixels if said index value is not greater than said predetermined threshold; (6) means for forming said one or more decompressed digital video images from said one or more current pixels; and (C) output means, coupled to said processor, for forming said output digital video signal in accordance with said one or more decompressed digital video images.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein said one or more compressed digital video images comprise a plurality of compressed digital video images, said system further comprising synchronization means, coupled to said digital processor, for selectively invoking said digital processor to decompress selected ones of said plurality of compressed digital video images.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein said digital processor further comprises means for detecting at least one sync frame.
 27. The system of claim 26, further comprising memory coupled to said output means, for sequentially storing ones of said plurality of decompressed digital video images.
 28. The system of claim 27, further comprising display means coupled to said memory, for sequentially displaying said stored images and said at least one sync frame.
 29. A system for forming an output digital video signal representative of one or more compressed digital video images in real time from an input digital video signal representative of one or more decompressed digital video images comprising:(A) input means for receiving said input digital video signal; (B) a digital processor coupled to said input means, said digital processor having compressing means for forming said one or more compressed digital video images in real time from said one or more decompressed digital video images, said compressing means including:(1) means for selecting from said one or more decompressed digital video images at least one pixel for compression; (2) means for determining at least one difference value between said at least one selected pixel and at least one corresponding previous pixel; (3) means for determining an index value corresponding to the location in a first table of said at least one difference value; (4) means for comparing said index value to a first predetermined value; (5) means for incrementing a run-length counter by a second predetermined value if said index value is equal to said first predetermined value; (6) means for encoding said run-length counter; (7) means for encoding said index value if said index value is not equal to said first predetermined value; (8) means for forming a compressed digital video image from said encoded run-length counter and said encoded index value; (C) output means, coupled to said digital processor, for forming said output digital video signal from said one or more compressed digital video images.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein said input means comprises:(1) a video digitizer for forming said one or more decompressed digital video images from said input digital video signal; and (2) memory, coupled to said video digitizer, for storing said one or more decompressed digital video images.
 31. The system of claim 29, wherein said one or more decompressed digital video images comprise a plurality of decompressed digital video images.
 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising synchronization means, coupled to said digital processor, for selectively invoking said digital processor to compress selected ones of said plurality of decompressed digital video images.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein said synchronization means further comprises means for invoking said digital processor to form at least one sync frame. 